Vice President Joseph R. Biden said the “breach” that exists between police and minority communities could be resolved, if all Americans agreed that “all life matters” equally and if law enforcement realized the “black male on the corner” might be the next Vincent van Gogh.
“We need to agree in this nation on two basic statements of truth,” Mr. Biden said during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech at the Organization of Minority Women in Delaware, The Hill reported. “Cops have a right to go home at night to see their families. And two, all minorities, no matter what their neighborhood,have a right to be treated with respect and with dignity. All life matters.”
Mr. Biden also referenced the police shooting death of teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, as well as other police killings in recent times, and said both sides — police and civilians — have “got to start seeing one another.”
“We have to recognize the black male on the corner is also a kid who likes to draw and might turn out to be a great artist one day,” Mr. Biden said, The Hill reported. “We also have to recognize that cop on the beat is also a mom who plays basketball. There are bad actors every place you go. But the majority of people are decent.”
Mr. Biden also said communities ought to do more to recognize and respect the “humanity” of police and law enforcement.
“We can solve this problem,” he said. “Let’s not forget who we are and what we’ve done. … We have come very, very far.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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